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Healthy Diets Linked to Longer Life Regardless of Longevity Genes, UK Biobank Study Shows

The peer-reviewed analysis used UK Biobank data with a longevity polygenic score to estimate life-year gains at age 45.

Overview

  • Researchers analyzed 103,649 adults with at least two validated 24-hour dietary recalls and tracked mortality over a median 10.6 years, recording 4,314 deaths.
  • Five established dietary patterns were assessed—AHEI-2010, Alternate Mediterranean, healthful Plant-based, DASH, and the Diabetes Risk Reduction Diet.
  • Modeling suggested that, at age 45, men in the highest versus lowest diet-quality quintile gained about 1.9 to 3.0 years of life, while women gained about 1.5 to 2.3 years.
  • Diet quality was associated with longer life across genetic risk strata for longevity, with no broad gene–diet interaction detected except a stronger DDRD association in those with lower longevity polygenic scores.
  • Authors emphasize public-health relevance but note observational limits, including recall-based diet measures, residual confounding, and limited ethnic diversity, which constrain causal interpretation and generalizability.